Woman pleads guilty to theft

One of the two women accused of stealing more than $39,000 from the Hampton Inn & Suites pleaded guilty to felony theft in court Wednesday.

Sandra Yanira McMahon, 43, of Steamboat Springs, pleaded guilty to Class 4 felony theft on the charges she and co-defendant Angela Ellen Robinson, 41, embezzled about $39,000 from the hotel from December 2004 to August 3, 2005.

As part of a plea agreement reached with the District Attorney's Office, McMahon will be sentenced to six years probation, 60 days in the Routt County Jail and will be ordered to pay about $8,000 of restitution.

McMahon's attorney, public defender Trevor McFee, told District Judge Paul McLimans that he would like to have a restitution hearing after McMahon's sentencing because he doesn't think McMahon should have to pay the full amount.

During her sentencing in December, Robinson was ordered to serve a 90-day jail sentence followed by 10 years of probation. Robinson was ordered to pay about $31,000 in restitution. Robinson opted not to take a plea from the DA's Office, saying she wanted to admit to what she had done.

According to court records, McMahon -- who at one time was the hotel's director of housekeeping -- kept former employees on the hotel's payroll and then cashed their checks.

District Judge Paul McLimans told McFee and McMahon that there might be a conflict of interest with his hearing the case because he resides at the Hampton Inn when he is in town.

After conferring with McMahon, McFee told McLimans that neither McFee nor his client had a problem with McLimans proceeding in the case.

McMahon is scheduled for sentencing at 11 a.m. March 1.

--To reach Alexis DeLaCruz, call 871-4234

or e-mail adelacruz@steamboatpilot.com

A new attorney may represent the 22-year-old Steamboat Springs man accused of selling methamphetamine and cocaine from his home near Soda Creek Elementary School. Cosme Orlando Lopez was scheduled to have a pre-trial conference Wednesday, but it was postponed for a week pending a new attorney in the case. District Judge Paul McLimans told Lopez, Assistant District Attorney Kerry St. James, public defender Trevor McFee and the new attorney that any plea offer that might be made in the case would have to be accepted at Lopez's next court date or else the case would go to trial in February. Lopez is scheduled to appear in court at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The 22-year-old man who pleaded guilty to menacing, harassment and violation of probation was sentenced to three consecutive jail sentences in three separate cases. Alex Timothy Hynes will serve 12 months in the Routt County Jail with a 185-day credit. Hynes also was ordered to pay more than $400 in fines. The other jail sentences were for six months each. Hynes pleaded guilty to several crimes in December, including spray-painting racial slurs on a car and violating terms of probation. Hynes told the court he was sorry for what he had done and that he hoped to turn his life around after he served his sentences. "I'm aware I've made some mistakes," he said. "I'd like to apologize to the victims of my crimes."

Twenty-seven-year-old Alexander Savino Martinez, who is accused of trying to disarm a police officer during his arrest in October, was sentenced to four years in prison for possessing more than one gram of a controlled Schedule 2 substance, and 18 months in jail for resisting arrest. Martinez also was sentenced to 24 months in jail for third-degree assault and three years in prison for criminal trespass. Those charges stemmed from previous cases. Martinez also was ordered to pay more than $3,000 in fines for the several cases he was sentenced on.

Forty-four-year-old attorney Heather Turner pleaded guilty to one count of harassment and one count of fraud by check in Routt County Court. Turner was arrested last week after County Judge James Garrecht issued a warrant for her arrest when she failed to appear in court for a jury trial. Turner will be sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation. Garrecht also ordered Turner to take anger-management classes and to submit to a mental health evaluation. She will be ordered to pay restitution to the business where her checks bounced. Turner's sentencing was scheduled to allow her enough time to handle a separate check fraud case she has pending in Park County. Garrecht also decided to turn Turner's $10,000 bond into a personal recognizance bond and reminded her of the charges she could face if she missed her sentencing. Turner is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8.